1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to packaging, and particularly to a customized packaging arrangement for securely containing rectanguloid articles that vary in size and aspect ratio.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Packaging arrangements for securely containing rectanguloid articles are well known in the prior art. Examples may be found in the following documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,354 - Discloses a shipping container comprising two corrugated rectangular sheets that are disposed in orthogonal confronting relationship with their medial portions conforming to, and facing, respectively, the top and bottom surfaces of a rectanguloid article to be shipped, each sheet being creased and folded along four parallel lines to provide oppositely extending lateral and flap portions, the first such sheet having its medial portion covering the top surface of the article, its lateral portions covering the two opposite sides of the article, and its flap portions overlapping side marginal areas of the second sheet's medial portion, the second sheet's medial portion covering the bottom surface of the article, its lateral portions covering the two opposite, ends of the article, and its flap portions overlapping end marginal areas of the first sheet's medial portion, whereby all six faces of the article are covered by the two sheets.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,281,049 - Discloses a rectanguloid shipping container comprising two rectangular blanks of corrugated paperboard that are disposed in crossed, superposed relation, thereby providing a double-walled bottom, then folded upwardly to form the four container sides, and then folded inwardly in overlapping, abutting relation to provide a double-walled top, the inwardly folded top ends of the lower (outer) blank being folded over (thus outside) the inwardly folded top ends of the upper (inner) blank, the inwardly folded top ends of each of the blanks abutting each other to provide a complete wall (comprising two half-sections) across the container top.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,051 - Discloses a rectanguloid shipping container comprising two rectangular corrugated sheets superposed in crossed relationship and glued together at their overlapping medial portions to form a double-walled container bottom, the outward-projecting end portions of each sheet being first folded upwardly to form opposing container side walls and then folded inwardly to form abutting half-sections of a container top wall, the two sheets so folded thus providing a double-walled container top, the underlying (outer) sheet at the bottom being the overlying (outer) sheet at the top so as to constitute the outer wall at each of the double-walled bottom and top, and the overlying (inner) sheet at the bottom being the underlying (inner) sheet at the top so as to constitute the inner wall at the top and bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,666,166 - Discloses a rectanguloid shipping container which is similar to that in U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,051, above, but differs therefrom in that (1) the end portions of the inner sheet that, when folded inwardly, form the inner wall at the top are less than half-sections, and therefore do not abut each other but instead are spaced apart, and (2) the outer sheet, which, when folded both upwardly and inwardly, completely surrounds the folded inner sheet, is wider than the distance between the opposing side walls formed by the folded inner sheet, thereby leaving a marginal void along each of those two opposing sides to provide buffering protection against impact.
While such prior-art arrangements as those described above may have sufficed for their own particular purposes, there nonetheless has remained a need for an improved packaging arrangement that is readily adaptable to automated on-line sizing and fabrication of customized, highly protective packaging for rectanguloid articles that may vary, randomly, in both size and aspect ratio.
An overall objective of this invention, therefore, has been to provide a customized packaging arrangement that meets the foregoing need, and to do so in an efficient, cost-effective, and reliable manner.